Roquefort Mousse With Poached Pears And Crunchy Almonds

This week, the whole city of Lima is in excitement.
Mistura, Latin America's largest festival of cuisine has opened its doors.
In literally every corner there is something cooking, frying, steaming or baking.
As I'm still in convalescence, I didn't have the energy to visit Mistura. It's always crowded and people are queuing up to visit the different stands.
But I was following the event on TV and everything looked very impressive.
It's a time when people celebrate the nation's rich culinary tradition, incredible biodiversity to the rhythm of dances and folk music from all over the country.
the fair is divided in five sections:1. The Grand Market
where more than 250 producers and farmers display their regional products.

2. The Bazaar
Side by side you can admire the latest kitchen products and accessories.
Additionally, the best known gastronomic schools and academies offer information about their courses and professional careers.3. The Bakery Stand
this stand attracts visitors not only by the sight but as well for the beautiful aromas of freshly baked bread and sweets. More than 50 varieties of bread made with wheat, sweet potato, potato, sugar cane and a vast variety of Andean herbs are offered here.4. The Chocolate stand
Peruvian Cocoa is known and appreciated for it's outstanding quality.
This stand is a paradise for chocolate lovers.
5.The Pisco and Coffee Salon.
Pisco is Peru's flagship liquor and here you can savor the best Pisco's, enjoy it's incredible aromas and flavors and learn about the production of this exquisite liquor.
The stand makes as well the delight of all coffee lovers. Coffee is produced in a region between Andeans and the jungle and is of outstanding quality.
I remember when we lived in Switzerland and I met an high executive from Nestle. When I mentioned that we where going to Peru, he told me: for me, they have the best coffee beans in the world. You can imagine how amazed and proud I felt after that!
If you want to see more about Mistura, click the link below:

After so much reading and watching people cooking, I got hungry.
I opened my fridge and found a piece of gorgeous Roquefort.
So why not try out an elegant Roquefort mousse with poached pears?
I tried this once at an Embassy dinner but didn't have the exact measurements and wasn't sure if I could recall all the ingredients.
After a quick check I had cheese, crème fraiche and pears. Only walnuts and Rosemary were missing which wasn't a big deal to buy. Instead of walnuts I found only almonds, which tasted as good in this mousse as the original walnuts.
The result of the recipe was truly amazing.
The soft texture of the Roquefort and the natural sweetness of pears and the crunchy almonds made a perfect combination.Here is what you need:
100g of Rouqefort (softened,at room temperature)
1/2 cup of crème fraiche
1/2 pear, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup dry wine
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2l water
1 small rosemary twig
1 clove
4 walnuts or almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
1 thin slice of Prosciutto, and split into 4 pieces. Instructions:
Place water with sugar, white wine, cloves, lemon zest and rosemary in a small pot.

bring to simmer, place pear cubes in it and let simmer for about 5 minutes or until pear is soft al dente
Strain pear cubes and dry with a kitchen towel.
Set aside.
Place the softened Roquefort and crème fraiche in a bow and whisk until mixture is soft and creamy.

If necessary, add a little bit more crème fraiche or pear liquid.
Add the pear cubes and mix carefully.
Serve in shot glasses and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.

Chill for about 1/2 hour before serving.
Place 1 crispy prosciutto piece for decoration on the top of the mousse.(See instructions for the crisp prosciutto at Breakfast De Luxe)
Serves 2 p.

The Mistura Festival looks great- I watched the video and I can't believe that one farmer brought over '1,000 types of potatoes'? Personally, I'd like to head over to the Bakery Stand (I can wait in line)!

Hi Fran,no mistake in this numbers in the video. Worldwide there are about 4000 different kinds of potatoes. Only in Perú there are officially about 3000 of them. Isn't that amazing? Of you are interested to read more about it, here is the link to the International Potatoe Center's website :http://cipotato.org/

Your appetiser looks amazing. I would love this. I'm a big fan of blue cheese and always enjoy it with prosciutto and pears so this is a perfect combination of ingredients for me. I was once given a bottle of Pisco - I found it to be VERY strong! xx

Hi Charlie,Completely agreed, Blue cheese in all it's forms is so delicious.You made me :) about your experience with Pisco. It is actually quite strong, similar to the Spanish Grappa. Both of them are used pure as Digestive.But my personal fav is Pisco as a cocktail in Pisco Sour. So yummy.

Mistura sounds like an intriguing event and of course I would love to have visited the chocolate stand... LOL This is a really interesting appetiser and a great way to start an evening meal or just sipping a little wine. Take care

wow...Daniela...this recipe is so new to us....until now...we could have never imagined using Roquefort cheese for mousse....but looking at this beautiful,rich,creamy delicacy...all our doubts have melted....this indeed must taste delicious...especially with pears and almonds,thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe :-)

I love the combination of pears and roquefort! One of my favorite restaurants would serve date bread with pears poached in port with a slice of roquefort. Delightful! Your mousse sounds wonderful, Daniela, and the festival sounds wonderful. Maybe next year :)

What a fantastic appetizer to start a meal - bringing our palate to clean and open for the next dish! Love the poached pears. The slight sweetness is very pleasant too! Thanks for introducing the market. It's always fun to learn new culture and foods!